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#26

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 5:54pm

So, I'm like super late to the discussion but I literally just made this account to join in because I wanted to talk to more people who have had stage dooring experience! I frequently see touring shows in Minneapolis, however, the only two shows I've stagedoored so far was Hamilton (the Philip company) and Hello, Dolly!. I have yet to have a poor stage door experience. I've witnessed a few rude people (like people cutting in line), but that's not the show's fault.

The Hamilton cast was so, so kind and gracious- almost everyone from the cast came out to sign playbills, take photos, etc.- there were quite a few people there but everyone took their time with each fan. I had won the Hamilton lottery so I was sitting in the 2nd row directly in the center and a few of the performers noticed me and mentioned seeing me in the audience which was super cool and made me totally geek out.

Last weekend, I saw Hello, Dolly! for the first time and met a few ensemble members, as well as Ermengarde (Morgan Kirner), Cornelius (Nic Rouleau) and Barnaby (Sean Burns)- they were all super duper kind and really took their time with everyone at the stage door. I ended up going to see the show again because I won some tickets through Lucky Seat, and I was in town celebrating my birthday with my family. My family thought it would be fun if I wore a "happy birthday" button while we went out to eat before the show and I had forgotten I had it on.. I went to the stage door again because I had a note I wrote for Nic, and I just love stagedooring when I get the chance. I met a few of the same cast members from the weekend before and I honestly have no idea if they remembered me (which I totally get, they probably meet so many people), but they were still super kind even though they had a 2 show day that day and the evening performance started a half hour late due to technical difficulties. When Nic came out, he was very kind to me and my awkwardness (I swear, I never know what to say at stage doors) and noticed my birthday button and was like "oh! is it your birthday?!" and I slightly panicked because I forgot I had the button on and I was like "... almost!" and then he told me "happy almost birthday!", which is probably my favorite stage door experience just because he's an actor I've followed on social media for years and had always wanted to see perform/meet but I never thought I'd get the chance. I even had my Polaroid with me and he was kind enough to take a picture and sign the Polaroid, and he even waited around for a few to make sure it didn't develop blurry or anything. (Also, highly recommend the touring production of Hello, Dolly!- I don't think I've ever fallen in love with a show and a cast so fast)

#27

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 6:13pm

Adding to this that we went to hadestown the other night and stagedoor was insane. There’s an active driveway right next to the stagedoor which means there isn’t near enough room to fit everyone trying to get autographs. Many times people pushed and latecomers tried to stand by the driveway and were yelled at and pushed in front of those on the end.

Other than that I would say kinky boots with brendon urie and off broadway be More Chill (because the barricade was stretchy and people pushed. As someone with anxiety these definitely were not fun.

However I will say that everyone who came out at hadestown was super nice and had conversations with those who chatted. They also made sure to get those who were farther back or had to go out into the street because of the driveway so don’t panic if you don’t get in front.

#28

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 7:01pm

Out of curiosity, where is there a driveway around the Walter Kerr?

#29

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 7:08pm

Best experience was probably stage dooring Oklahoma last week. I was the only one there, so no pushing and no fighting and got to have a lovely conversation with Patrick Vaill :) Can't go wrong when there's no one else to bother you!

Worst was definitely Hadestown's first preview. An actual fight broke out right in front of me. Lots of yelling and entitlement to go around.

Funny how both extremes were from this season!

#30

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 7:43pm

Can't say I ever had a bad experience.

Best experience was Hamilton while it was still in previews. Everyone including Lin was very friendly, and would talk to you for as long as you wanted. Daveed, Leslie, Oak, Renee, Jonathan, and etc, were incredible. I wish I could go back to those days as they were special for everyone involved.

Not to be confused with Dave19.

#31

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 7:56pm

The driveway is for a parking garage. Don’t know if that helps but it is right next to the stagedoor.

#32

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 8:20pm

Some of my favorite stage door experiences were from Cinderella and Les Mis.

Cinderella: Pretty much the entire cast signed and took pictures with you if you asked. Harriet Harris and Linda Mugleston, who was on for Victoria Clark, were particularly nice and engaging. My dad couldn't figure out how to take pictures with his phone so instead of getting a picture WITH Laura I got a picture OF her signing my playbill because I was too shy to ask her myself. He did have a whole conversation with Linda, who was one of the last to come out.

Les Mis: This was the day of the Tony Awards so I was prepared to see very few stop for pictures and autographs. Ramin went straight to the car headed to the Tonys (understandable given they were one of the first shows performing) but most of the others surprisingly took the time to sign and take pictures. My cousin, who is much better with technology than my dad, took a picture of me with a very nice Keala Settle. I also caught a glimpse of Idina Menzel emerging from the If/Then stage door next door to Les Mis. The crowd swallowed her up pretty quick but it was amazing seeing her for three seconds. My mom told me while she was waiting for me across the street, she saw Audra in a car that was picking up Will Swenson.

A bonus was seeing Santino Fontana in Cinderella a few months before Frozen came out; during the height of Frozen fever, my high school frenemy was bragging to people about something cool that happened to her and I decided to mention that I met Prince Hans

Updated On: 4/29/19 at 08:20 PM

#33

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 9:30pm

Don't really have any bad ones. If the crowd looks like it's gonna be trouble, I don't even bother.

But the standouts were...

Donna Murphy, Wonderful Town. The rest of the cast came out pretty quickly, but my friend and I were the only ones that stuck around for an additional twenty minutes in the cold waiting for her. At about minute thirty, the stage door manager asked who were were waiting for, and we answered. Three minutes later, Murphy opens the door herself and invites us in. Apparently she had friends visiting and didn't realize people were still waiting. Could not have been more gracious or accommodating.

Cherry Jones, Doubt. Or, really, Cherry Jones in any context. She is one of those few actors who can be counted on to take her time with fans, talk with them, discuss the play, and she genuinely doesn't seem like she's in any rush to go. Met her a few times, and that has consistently been the case.

Brian Stokes Mitchell/Marin Mazzie, Kiss Me Kate. My sister and I had a friend working backstage, and we were invited for a tour after the show. Along the way, we ran into Stokes and Mazzie, both legitimately kind people, had no problem stopping and chatting for a bit.

Hugh Jackman, The Boy from Oz. Watching this guy make an entire crowd feel appreciated and relaxed was really something to behold.

Michelle Williams, Cabaret. This one surprised me, as she had always seemed a bit distant and even standoffish in older interviews. The complete opposite though, she was humble and present, and seemed touched by what I had to say. She even reached across the barrier to hug me, which isn't something I expected.

The entire cast, The Little Foxes. Probably the most organized stage door experience I've ever witnessed. Every cast member came out, took their time, and every one who waited got a signature, and selfie if they asked.

Updated On: 4/29/19 at 09:30 PM

#34

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 9:45pm

"Nice is different than good."

Updated On: 4/29/19 at 09:45 PM

#35

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 9:54pm

Kinky Boots with Brendon Urie. Those were not fans of his, they were insane, horrible, aggressive stalkers. He will never come back to Broadway again based on how he was treated.

#36

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 10:20pm

I would also like to take a moment to say just how sweet Michelle Williams was as well. She has been my favorite actress for many years and seeing her in Blackbird was one of the highlights of my theatre going life. When she came out, I told her how fantastic she was, a few roles I loved her in and that she was my favorite actress. I also was able to tell her my cousin has worked with her a number of times and she and I talked for about ten minutes about the movies they’ve worked on together, their children playing together, among of things. She then took a picture with me and told me to tell my cousin she said hello.

I was nervous to meet her because I’ve heard some odd things about her and she couldn’t have been lovelier.

#37

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 10:38pm

Some of the standouts I've had:

Anastasia Broadway: In particular, any time Christy Altomare came out. Truly one of the kindest humans I've ever met. She just makes everyone there feel like a million bucks. But everyone I've met has been really sweet.

Anastasia Tour: Both times I've seen it now, almost the entire company has come out. All were super friendly and took the time to talk to everyone.

Aladdin: I was the only person at the stage door the night I went and I got to have an extended discussion with Arielle Jacobs. She even came out a 2nd time and chatted with me again.

Little House Musical: Years ago but I saw this twice, once at the Guthrie in Minneapolis and once at Paper Mill. I was at the final show at the Guthrie and a bunch of us were at the stage door hoping to meet Melissa Gilbert. They had some type of cast party that night but security kept telling us to hang out so we waited. About an hour after the show, she came out with Steve Blanchard and both of them chatted with everyone. They were so sweet. I ended up meeting them again a few months later at Paper Mill. It was raining that night but both still came out with umbrellas and chatted with the crowd.

#38

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 11:17pm

I can't recall any bad experiences; however, my best experience came Saturday night after Network. There were at least 200 people who waited for nearly an hour and a half to see Bryan Cranston. It was all so organized, and Bryan's assistant took pictures of anyone who wanted them with Bryan. He was also losing his voice and on vocal rest for Sunday's performance, but he still carried on conversations with everyone (at a whisper). When it was our turn, I acknowledged that he was on vocal rest and that we knew he couldn't talk to us. He waved it off and proceeded to have a good conversation with us. I'm pretty sure that Cranston is the coolest and most casual A-list celebrity to stage door on Broadway.

I'll second the experience with Hugh Jackman. He's also very friendly and takes the time with everyone.

Matthew Broderick and most of the cast of The Producers were very pleasurable at the stage door. Nathan Lane, however, darted into his car each of the three times I saw it.

There are so many others, but these are the three that really stand out.

#39

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/29/19 at 11:41pm

A few come to mind:

The most pleasant stage door experience was The Band’s Visit — everyone who waited for the cast to come out had very beautiful, meaningful things to say to the performers. Since there weren’t many folks waiting, everyone spent a bit of time with the fans. I had a nice conversation with John Cariani. Many people were there for Tony Shalhoub, and he was so sweet and gracious.

I was shocked to find out anyone in this recent revival of Angels was coming out to sign. I wasn’t planning on stagedooring because of how heavy and exhausting the show must’ve been on the actors, but after seeing Andrew Garfield’s incredible performance, I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t say how much his work moved me. He came out after around 45 minutes. Some annoying Spider-man fans, but he was absolutely lovely, taking time to hear what folks had to say and being fully present with everyone.

Then there’s the one that meant most to me: the first show I stagedoored, Oh, Hello. Mulaney and Kroll, and Oh, Hello pushed me through some tough times and I had to take the opportunity to say some words to two of my favorites. It was very early in previews, and before Mulaney reached the level of fame he’s at now. I shyly spoke to both of them, each of whom spent time with every fan. They were so kind. It was a moment I’ll always keep with me.

#40

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/30/19 at 12:14am

Best - Bernadette Peters. Hugh jackman. Ghost. .

Worst - Alice ripely n2n. Mean girls. Newsies. Ricky Martin. It’s only a play

#41

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/30/19 at 12:34am

No bad stage door experience. Best was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Wicked. Nicholas and Bubba in particular were quite possibly the warmest, loveliest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting while stage dooring. They had LONG conversations with each and every person. Bubba and I actually had a long conversation about mental health (I told him I am graduating from his alma mater studying mental health!), up to a point where James Snyder had to skip over me because we were still chatting! (He came back!)

Jessica Vosk is also one of the loveliest people I have ever met. She is so appreciative of her fans. She takes pictures, hugs, and will talk to each and every one of her fans. I told her how much I love her, how I've seen Wicked 4 times for her (I have a problem lol), and she looked and said how grateful she is for the support, love, and kind words. She is also so funny and an absolute doll to meet.

#42

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 4/30/19 at 6:45am

I rarely ever stage door, but I did for choir Boy. My boyfriend is black, was in choir in high school at an all black Christian school, so he could relate well to this show, and especially Jeremy Pope’s character. We met him at the stage door after and he was just such a pleasure to talk to. My bad Elijah talked with him about his experience growing up and how much this show meant to him and to see himself represented on stage was really amazing. I was hoping he’d enjoy this show but he was moved by it way more than expected. Jeremy was so nice and gracious and we had about a 10-15 minute conversation honestly and it got really light hearted by the end. He said he absolutely loved doing this show, and you could see that in his performance. What a great guy!

#43

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 5/6/19 at 11:41pm

I don’t stage door too often, but some shows I like to have a signed Playbill to frame if it was one of my more memorable theater experiences.

Tonight was one of those nights. I’ve seen this particular show before, but my sister and her friends drove in from college. I thought you all might get a kick out of this one.

I don’t blab on and on to the actors. I usually just smile and say “thank you, I appreciate it” as they hand me my Playbill back. That is exactly what I said with a smile to this particular person. Their response... “Eh, I’m getting paid.”

*eye roll* SERIOUSLY?! I just had to laugh it off.

#44

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 5/7/19 at 8:29am

The Stage Door Superstar Award (there should be one) hands down goes to Hugh Jackman, probably one of the nicest, most appreciative and decent human beings on the planet.

Worst: A tie. First, Kevin Spacey, after a performance of MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN. But perhaps the less said about him now, the better. Second--and this was a surprise--Alan Alda after a performance of the 2005 revival of GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. He refused to even look at any of the throng waiting for him and dashed immediately into his car. I thought perhaps this was an off day or an emergency. But no, my second trip to the stage door yielded the same result. I know that all the audience is owed is a good performance, but I thought he was overly disrespectful. A wave to the crowd would have been nice. So much for that "nice guy" persona.

#45

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 5/7/19 at 8:55am

mamaleh said: "TheStage Door Superstar Award (there should be one) hands down goes to Hugh Jackman, probably one of the nicest, most appreciative and decenthuman beings on the planet.

Worst: A tie. First,Kevin Spacey, after a performance of MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN. But perhaps the less said about him now, the better. Second--and this was a surprise--Alan Alda after a performance of the 2005 revival ofGLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. He refused to even look at any of the throng waiting for him and dashed immediately into his car. I thought perhaps this was an off day or an emergency. But no, my second trip to the stage door yielded the same result. I know that all the audience is owed is a good performance, but I thought he was overly disrespectful. A wave to the crowd would have been nice. So much for that "nice guy" persona."

Agreed on all three. Spacey, in particular, was a total d**k.

#46

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 5/7/19 at 9:19am

"Worst - Alice ripely n2n. Mean girls. Newsies. Ricky Martin. It’s only a play"

Wow, Alice Ripley being the worst is totally different than the experience my daughter and I had with her after seeing the show. She was friendly, talked with us about the show and asked my daughter how she liked NYU and what she was studying. We saw the show about a week after it had opened. Sorry you had bad experience.

#47

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 5/7/19 at 9:20am

"Christy Altomare was simply an angel, best stage door ever"

Yep, can't imagine anybody nicer than her.

#48

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 5/7/19 at 10:04am

Best:

Every time I've met Jeremy Jordan he's been a sweetheart.

Laura Osnes has also been very kind.

Nothing compares to Christy Altomare though, every interaction is so unique and genuine its insane.

Worst:

Hands down Idina Menzel. My brother is OBSESSED with RENT so when we saw her in If/Then he insisted we wait to meet her.

It was the middle of winter and literally 5 degrees out. We waited an hour and a half for her because the stage door guard insisted she would come out. At this point, there are maybe 5 people left outside when she finally comes out to sign and she barely says 2 words to anyone. If you spoke to her, it was like talking to a wall. She signed very fast and left in seconds. She was maybe outside for a minute.

I do not blame her for the weather, or how long we waited. I know stage dooring is optional and she could have had guests inside. I do blame her for not trying to create a better interaction with the 5 people who waited an hour and a half in freezing weather. Wasn't like there was 100 of us and she had a lot of people to get through, there was 5 of us.

#49

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 5/7/19 at 10:36am

Ramin Karimloo has always been very gracious at the stage door, even in the frigid temperatures of March in London.

Michael Xavier was wonderful at the stage door for Sunset Boulevard. Before any of the actors came out, the security guard informed the crowd that selfies with Ms. Close or Mr. Xavier were not allowed, but Michael stayed there until most of the crowd cleared and then began offering to take pictures with people after signing.

At the stage door for Boys in the Band, Charlie Carver asked for my phone so that he could take the selfie with us, saying that selfies were his special talent. I believe he did this with virtually everyone.

Andy Karl was also delightful at the stage door for Groundhog Day.

==> this board is a nest of vipers <==
"Michael Riedel...The Perez Hilton of the New York Theatre scene"
- Craig Hepworth, What's On Stage

Updated On: 5/7/19 at 10:36 AM

#50

Best/worst stage door experience?

Posted: 5/7/19 at 12:51pm

I was at a show once with a terrible usher who was really rude and mean inside the theatre, and then who followed everyone outside and was yelling at everyone. It ruined the experience for me and we just decided to leave after that

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